This Year Will Be Different, I Promise
by TheGabification
Summary: AU: Every year, for Christmas, he is forced to watch his friends with their soul mates, while he was stuck in a relationship with a woman he saw no future with. Once he meets Rosemary, a strange, intriguing girl in a flower shop, he knows this year's Christmas will not be the same. MarluxiaOC


**This story was originally posted on my old account, ****Bubbles of Ebil, ****1-22-10.**

**Summary:** AU: Every year, for Christmas, he is forced to watch his friend with their soul mates, while he was stuck with a cheating girlfriend, but he knows this year will be different when he meets a strange, intriguing girl in a flower shop. MarluxiaOC Minor pairings: AkuRoku, Zemyx, SoRiku.

**Disclaimer:** I own **nothing**. Seriously. Not even Rosemary. My biffle owns her . The only thing I own is this plot and my iPod, Steve. And my laptop. Can't forget my baby!

**Authors Note:** This was written for my bestest friend ever (!) as a gift for Christmas since I am a poor High School Student… and since she refused to tell me what I could've bought her… Roar! Anyways! Happy Christmas, Xmas! Heh, heh! Ily~!

This Year Will Be Different, I Promise

It was a well known fact that Marluxia didn't hate Christmas… he just didn't love it, either. His feeling was more of a burning indifference. Yes, that's it… indifference. Of course, this apathy had nothing to do with the fact that he didn't have any really special Christmas memories.

I hope you noticed the sarcasm there, because if you didn't, I command you to go knock yourself into submission.

Christmas for him was… odd. It was simply there. He was unable to muster any excitement or hate for this festive holiday. So, he _couldn't _hate Christmas… but he could hate the winter. Winter brought snow and snow, as far as he was concerned, was hell. Snow was too cold—none of his flowers would bloom in the snow.

It was like the cold canceled out his flower powers. This is why Hollow Bastion University was his first choice- it was in California and was warm almost year-round.

To be completely honest, he wasn't sure why he even celebrated Christmas, anymore. It wasn't like he had anyone to put up a Christmas tree with, or someone to share a sweet kiss with under a mistletoe. I suppose the only reason he said he celebrated it was because of all the free crap he was given. But… don't let Demyx know he feels this way.

Unlike Marluxia, Demyx was all gung-ho on "Christmas Spirit." I suppose it had something to do with the fact that Demyx had someone to spend Christmas with. Yes, Demyx, the annoying, sitar-playing brat finally managed to snag his long-time crush, Zexion, a quiet guy with a strange love for book and an even stranger sense of smell.

Demyx was gay. This was a well-known fact. No, Marluxia did not have a problem with it. In fact, a majority of his friends were gay. When they were younger and in high school, they would often joke about how Marluxia, the guy with cherry-blossom pink hair and an obsession with flowers, got all of their "straightness."

But, I digress.

Even Zexion, with his kind-of-emo-but-not-really personality, got into the Christmas spirit. Sometimes, when he still lived in New York, Marluxia wondered why he didn't just skip it all and go somewhere warm for the holidays. Somewhere like Florida. Florida was warm. But, he knew he couldn't do that to his friends. Now that they were all separated and in different colleges, they rarely got to see each other, except for during the holidays. So, he sucked it up and made plans to fly out to Twilight Town, New York to be with his friends. Every year.

And, every year his friends would urge him to bring along someone for the holidays, so he did. For the longest time, he brought along his girlfriend, Larxene. That is… until he found out that the stupid bitch was cheating on him and kicked her to the curb. That was in February, though, and even though they were together for three years, he really didn't car. In fact, he kind of knew it was coming. She used him and, to tell you the truth, he kind of used her, too. When they broke up (it was a marvelous thing: loud shouts, broken glass, and, of course, the break-up sex) the fist thing that ran through his mind was: Shit, now who do I bring with me for Christmas?

In addition to the fact that the relationship, to put it bluntly, sucked, his friends hated her. So that kind of told him that she wasn't **The One**. After that, Marluxia slept around, never sticking to a single girl for more than a week. Sometimes, his flings were shorter. But, he **never** went for one night stands. He just didn't feel comfortable having sex with random girls. It took about a day to get to know the girl (and, of course, to make sure she didn't have aids or anything).

That is, until recently, when his favorite flower shop went out of business (he was the only customer) and he was forced to find a new one to give his business to. That's where he met **her**.

There was the dinging of bells as someone opened the doors to the small shop. There was a girl of about nineteen standing at a counter. She was reading a novel, and looked quite uninterested at the world, nodding to the beat of whatever she was blasting on her iPod. She had short, bright red hair—almost as bright as Axel's hair, Marluxia noted—that was styled to make her look somewhat like a pixie, strands of her bright hair falling unevenly over her eyes.

Marluxia glanced around the store before setting about to gather all the things on his list. Finally, he approached a wall that neatly organized the packets of the different seeds. Bending over to examine the bottom row, he tapped his pale chin, thoughtfully.

'_What to choose, what to choose...'_ Marluxia hummed mindlessly, pushing back his shaggy pink hair out of his eyes.

"Oi! I'm going on break and have to lock up, now, so hurry up!"

An impatient voice broke his concentration as he snapped his head up to see that girl that was manning the register, staring at him with a scowl on her black painted lips. It was obvious that she didn't want to be there and the multiple piercing on her face made her annoyance all the more threatening. Marluxia grabbed a random pack of seeds and approached the register because, after all, something was better than nothing, right?

The girl scanned his items and muttered out the cost, her eyes not flickering up to meet his.

"Well, hello there, darling," he drawled, fully examining the red-head before him as he handed her the cash. "And you can keep the change."

"It won't work," she said, scowling as she took the money.

These words surprised him. It was fairly obvious, too, because it seemed that all that would come out of his mouth was, "Excuse me?"

"It won't work, you know, the flattery." She didn't look up from the register until now, handing him the receipt and the plastic bag full of his items.

Marluxia gasped, softly. Her eyes were like spring. They were a soft, pastel-like shade of green and reminded him of a field of marigolds because of the specks of the gold-ish color that littered the green. He almost didn't realize she had spoken again until his eyes traveled to her lips, catching himself staring at the multiple lip rings she had and wondering what it'd be like to kiss them.

"You'll call me things like sweetheart and darling and then you'll complement something like my eyes. Then, you'll proceed to ask me out on a date. Of course, you'll expect me to say "No" the first few times, but you'll persist until I get so annoyed that I'm missing out on my break, that I'll accept. But it won't work."

Marluxia blinked at her, shaking himself out of his stupor, smirking. "You seem so sure of yourself."

The girl rolled her eyes. "I'm psychic."

He had to laugh. "So, why wouldn't it work?"

"Mind tricks just don't work on me."

"Oh, really? And Why is this?" he found himself asking as he leaned onto the counter, glancing down at his receipt.

"Because, I'm more of a mind-fuck than Chris Angel."

Startled, Marluxia's eyes shot up to the girls face and he suspected that his eyebrows had disappeared into his bangs. That's when he realized she was grinning. He burst out laughing, extending his hand to the girl.

"Marluxia Florencia."

The girl's grin widened as she shook his hand, eyes twinkling with mirth, "Rosemary Zweig. Italian, right?"

"Um, yeah…Z…weig?" The college man scratched his pink head, stumbling over the foreign word.

"Yes, Zweig. It's German. So am I."

"Can you speak it?"

"Yeah," Rosemary nodded. "It's actually my first language."

Marluxia licked his lips. "That's kind of sexy."

"I know," she said, sounding confident despite the soft pink blush that had settled on her cheeks.

"Oh, ho, ho, ho. Cocky, aren't we?"

Rosemary gave an impish grin. "At least I don't pretend to be Santa Claus."

There was a moment of silence in which the two stared at each other. Then, the room exploded into laughter

From that point on, the two had become the best of friends. It mattered not that they had only met each other, they became very close. The two, in spite of their different majors, had clicked, and there was no going back. Almost every day, they would meet for lunch, or he would come to visit her at work, or they would just, you know, hang out.

They discovered that, despite the fact that they had never seen each other a day before in their lives, attended the same school, and that their dorms were fairly close to each other.

"We were meant to be friends," Marluxia would say, throwing his arm around his friend's shoulder.

"That," Rosemary would say, smirking, "or the gods hate me."

The two had spent hours getting to know each other, until they knew **everything** about the other.

Rosemary discovered that Marluxia was majoring in Botany and had come from Twilight Town, New York and had gotten into Hollow Bastion University on a full scholarship. She found out about his cheating ex-girlfriend, about his best friends, and how he hated winter, but didn't hate (or love) Christmas. She was told how he was the result of a teenage pregnancy and had grown up in the Oblivion Foster Home. She also discovered that his hair was, in fact, natural.

"_That shit is so __**not**__ natural!"_

_Marluxia chuckled. "Yes it is."_

_Rosemary narrowed her eyes, puffing out her cheeks, childishly, and crossed her arms. "Prove it!"_

_With a devious grin, Marluxia stood and-_

Needless to say, that was one memory she'd rather not remember.

During the countless hours the two had spent getting to know each other, Marluxia also learned about Rosemary's life. Marluxia learned Rosemary was majoring in the Culinary Arts and was also getting a degree in Music Composition. She was a local student, attending HBU through a partial scholarship- her parents and her split the rest of the cost. He was told that she was an only child (actually, she didn't mention any siblings, so he just assumed this), both her parents were in their mid-forties when they had her, and her parents were traveling business people, so they weren't home much. Actually, she was lucky if they were home once a month, but that's not the point. He found out how she was a recovering heroine addict (she hasn't touched the stuff in years- keeps herself busy with school and work) and reminds herself of the hardships the drug caused her through the tattoo of a needle on the inside of her wrist.

From that point on, the duo had become close friends, which was odd because neither of them were very friendly types of people. They became very close-knit and told each other **everything**. And by everything, I mean everything. But most of that was private, so we won't discuss that here, will we?

Rosemary lay on her bed, starting at the ceiling to her dorm room, feeling exhausted. Still, she knew she couldn't sleep. She had loads of homework she still needed to work on and… She glanced at the clock. The bright red numbers indicated it was ten-thirty at night.

She found it odd that she was this exhausted. Nothing interesting had happened today. She had gotten up (not too late, not too early), went to classes (today was one of her easier days), had lunch (a healthy, homemade salad with baked chicken strips), and went to work (it was a slow day, no customers, actually). The only odd thing she could think of was the fact that her pink-haired, plant obsessed friend, Marluxia, never dropped by the flower shop, which was weird because he always came by.

At this moment, she found herself experiencing an odd surge of worry, wondering if he was alright. At the same time, she began to scold herself. It was no use worrying over him. He was a big boy and he could take car of himself. Still…

As she absentmindedly brought one of her snake bites into her mouth, she wondered if she should call him. Scoffing, she rolled her eyes, and chuckled. She could just imagine how that conversation would play out.

_"Hello?"_

_"Hey, Marluxia. It's me, Rosemary."_

_"Oh, wow, you know, I had __**no**__ clue it was you, you know, with caller-id being non existent and all."_

_"Ha, ha, ha, very funny. I was just wondering where you were today…" _

_"Awe, did wittle Rosemary miss me?"_

And all possible outcomes from that point in the conversation on did not end well. Still, she found herself scrolling through her contacts, selecting Marluxia's name, pressing the green talk button, and holding the out-dated egg shaped cell phone to her ear. As the phone rang, she fiddled with one of her Monroe piercing. For some reason, she kind of expected him to sound sick or something, so she was definitely startled when a female voice answered the phone.

**"Hello?"**

Rosemary blinked, confused. Since when did Marluxia have such a sultry, high-pitched voice? She was so lost in thought; she almost didn't realize that the person on the other end had repeated their greeting.

**"Hellooo?"** The person sounded annoyed.

"Oh, um… Marluxia?" Rosemary was almost positive she sounded stupid because the person on the other end of the phone most definitely **not** Marluxia.

"**Oh, no. This is his girlfriend, Larxene. Marluxia's,"** the girl paused, gigging, **"busy… Can I take a message?"**

In the background, Rosemary could hear Marluxia's unmistakable deep voice questioning, _**"Who is it, babe?"**_

Larxene giggled, again. **"Marly~! That tickles! Stop it!"**

Unable to hear anything more, Rosemary's eyebrow narrowed as she spit out her reply "Never mind."

She slammed her thumb down on the end button, teeth clenching. Unidentifiable anger surged through her. She almost threw her phone at the wall because of the anger pulsing through her body, but she caught herself.

Why was she so mad?

Marluxia was allowed to date anyone he wanted. Besides, wasn't she the one that had told him that his antics to get in her pants wouldn't work? Wasn't she the one who had rejected him? Wasn't she the one who wanted to be "just friends?"

If all of this was true… then why was this sadness throbbing in her chest?

Rosemary pressed her forehead to the cash register of the flower shop, eyes closed. She had ended up not getting any sleep the last few nights. She had stayed up studying for her last few midterms, so she was exhausted. Still, she was thankful. The studying really paid off- she had gotten a "B" on her Statistics midterm, and she was horrible at math.

Rosemary suspected that she would have aced it, had she not been distracted with the thoughts of Marluxia that plagued her every time she closed her eyes. Nevertheless, she didn't mind. She passed and school was now officially on break. Two weeks of blissful relaxation. Letting out a sigh of relief, she straightened her back, stretching.

When she re-opened her eyes, Marluxia was standing over her, an amused expression in his eyes. Normally, Rosemary would have been so startled, she would have thrown herself out of her chair, but she was just too damn tired today. So, she settled for glaring at the pinkette. Oh, if looks could kill…

Sensing something was wrong, Marluxia let the amused expression slip off his face. He frowned. "Rosemary? Is something wrong?"

The redhead sighed, shutting her eyes and shook her head. "'m jus' sleepy," she mumbled, putting her head down on the counter, burying it into her arms.

"Mmm, Rosy-dearest's been busy," Marluxia teased, leaning on the counter.

Said girl peeked up, glaring beneath her red bangs. "Yeah, studying," she growled before taking into account the bags under his own eyes. "Like you're one to talk. At least I was doing something productive and not something reproductive."

"Okay, that didn't make any sense."

Rosemary rolled her eyes at the pleased look that rolled onto his face despite his words. She scowled, burying her head back into her arms, whispering, "At least I didn't blow off my friend…"

"What was that?" Marluxia flicked some of his shaggy pink hair out of his blue eyes.

She lifted her head, slightly, "So, you got back with _Larxene_?" She asked, all but hissing the name.

"Yeah, we-"

The redhead cut him off, glaring up at him. "I don't want to know, you fucking dumbass."

The pinkette frowned, "Whoa, what's with the hostility?"

"Because you're stupid!" She yelled, pushing herself off the counter, leaning onto it heavily as she glared up at his face. "She's going to cheat on you, again! Why would you put yourself through that!"

Marluxia licked his lips, finding himself without any words. "I…. I…"

"You, you, what, Marluxia?" Rosemary exhaled, running her fingers through her bangs. "You know what, forget it. I don't to deal with this nonsense right now. I've got other worries… like what am I go to do over winter break?"

"What do you mean, Rose?" Marluxia furrowed his eyebrows, looking confused. "You're coming with me to New York to meet my other friends…"

She rolled her green eyes, shaking her head. "Yeah, right. You sure _Larxene's_ going to be okay with that?" she bit out her question, bitterly, spitting out his girlfriends name as she glared at the counter, unable to meet his eyes. "I mean, it isn't as if she hates me enough as it is. How do you think she feels when you hang out with another girl? I… I think you should take her instead of me."

"Rosemary… sweetheart," the pinkette placed his fingers under her chin, gently forcing her to look up at him. "Larxene's not going to replace you. That's what you're worried about, aren't you? Larxene replacing you…"

Needless to say, Marluxia was surprised to find tears welling in the corners of the redhead's eyes as she nodded her head, bitterly. Feeling his heart throb, he jumped over the counter and brought the girl into his arms.

"Rose, you're my best friend! No one's going to replace you," her murmured into her hair.

Rosemary responded by wrapping her arms around his waist, burying her face into his chest. "Pinky swear?" her question was muffled.

Marluxia laughed. "Pinky swear.?

Later that night, when Rosemary was packing her bags for her trip, wondering what types of clothing would be most suitable, her phone rang.

"Hello?" she pressed the plastic to her ear as she examined two different shirts, expecting Marluxia to be on the other line as she didn't get many other people calling her.

**"Is this Rosemary Zweig?"**

The redhead girl frowned as a familiar, sultry, high-pitched voice drifted through the plastic earpiece. "Um, yeah… Larxene? Why are you…?"

**"Don't play dumb, bitch. I know what you're doing."**

Rosemary blinked, confused. "Um, what?"

**"You're trying to steal Marluxia from me! Well it won't work. Marluxia loves me."** She sounded so confident.

The redhead put down the shirts she was examining, taking a hold of the cell phone pressed between her ear and her shoulder. "No, no, no. You're confused. You see, we're just friends." Rosemary tried to smile, but even she knew her words sounded a little forced.

**"Yeah, whatever. Listen, bitch. Just sleep with one eye open."**

The redhead had to laugh. "Are you threatening me?"

**"What do you think?"** Larxene hissed.

Rosemary rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Go ahead, try something, but don't blame me if you get hurt."

**"Me? Why, you little-"**

She was unable to say anything more, or, rather Rosemary was unable to head anything more because she had hung up. Tossing her phone onto her bed, she picked up the two shirts she had put down, examining them.

The blaring alarm clock on her bedside table was the first thing she heard. As the infernal contraption screamed at her to wake the hell up, Rosemary groaned, pulling her pillow over her head.

"Mmngg…" she groaned, not wanting to leave her safe, warm bed. "Nyeh."

When the alarm clock was starting to give her a headache, Rosemary rolled out of bed. Literally. She hit her head on the corner of the night stand, and that definitely woke her up. She sat up, holding her head, hissing obscenities in her pain.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

"Shut. The. FUCK. UP!"

Rosemary grabbed the alarm clock and threw it at the wall, watching in satisfaction as it shattered into millions of pieces because, after all, those types of alarm clocks are only worth the money spent on them if you get the chance to throw it at the wall and watch as it breaks into thousands of pieces. She smirked, unintentionally rubbing her bump, causing her yelp in pain. The smirk twisted into a scowl as she glared up at her forehead- or tried to, at least- through her bangs.

Rosemary definitely was, and never would be, a morning person.

Grumbling to no one in particular, the redhead dragged herself to her feet and stumbled into the bathroom, glaring at herself in the mirror as she brushed her teeth, noting that the eyeliner she had worn the day before had collected under her eyes, making her seem dead to the world.

She spit out the toothpaste and rinsed her mouth, grabbing a clear white bottle that held salt-water solution. Sticking her tongue out of her mouth in concentration, she set to work at cleaning out her new bridge piercing, wincing at the slight sting. Gritting her teeth, Rosemary then proceeded to wash the rest of her face. With the cold water waking her up further, she realized that today she was leaving to New York for winter break the first time since she arrived at Hollow Bastion University in three years, she was leaving for this break.

To say she was happy was an understatement. The fact that she was going to spend two weeks with Marluxia (and without Larxene) only seemed to brighten her mood. She'd be lying if she said it didn't.

Grinning at her reflection, she grabbed her comb and ran it through her red hair. Softly, she fingered one of the many green and silver streaks that mixed in with the red, giving her a festive vibe. With her grin widening, she began to apply makeup. She spread some foundation that matched her skin tone onto her face before stroking some blush onto her cheeks. Unscrewing the cap to the dark green eye shadow, she spread the powder evenly over her eyelid. Then, she applied a stroke of liquid eyeliner under and over each eye, outlining her eyes, before stroking on some mascara, adding some volume to her miniscule lashes.

Blinking at her reflection, she realized she was missing something. Ah, lipstick, of course. She held up two tubes.

_'Hm… What should it be…? Black… or red? Red would clash with my red hair… wouldn't it? And the black… wouldn't want to scare off his friends. Maybe just chap stick…? I'll just bring them both and let Marly choose.'_

Happy with her choice, she clutched the tubes and tossed them into her carry-on purse rather than the rest of her make-up bag, which she tossed into her suitcase.

"Okay," she murmured, clapping her hands once. "Now, where are my clothes…?"

Emerald hues swept over the messy room, searching for the outfit she had picked out the night before. Her eyes landed on the pile of clothes and she walked over to it, bent over, and gathered them into her arms before turning around and going into the bathroom to change.

Marluxia blinked, holding up his watch. Where was she? They were going to miss their flight if she didn't get there **now**. He glanced back up, annoyance slipping easily onto his face. His blue eyes flickered around the crowded airport.

_'I knew I shouldn't have let her talk me into letting her meet me here.'_

Sighing exasperatedly, he held up his cell phone, intent on dialing his friend's number when it began to ring. When Rosemary's name flashed across the screen, he felt relief wash through his body. Flipping his phone open, he pressed the plastic to his ear.

"Please tell me you're here."

**"I am… Sorry about the wait. Traffic was terrible and then I couldn't find parking. Um, where are you…?"**

"I'm by the-"

**"Oh, never mind. I see you."**

Marluxia flipped his phone shut, glancing around the crowded area, searching for his redhead friend. Imagine his surprise when his friend bounded up to him with green and silver streaks in her bright red hair.

"Rosemary? What the hell did you do to your hair?" He question, surprise in his voice.

The girl blinked up at him, fingering the streaks. "What…? I got green and silver streaks, so what?"

The pinkette ran his fingers through her hair, cocking an eyebrow at its color. "It's weird…It looks like Christmas threw up on you… Well, at least Demyx should like it."

Rosemary laughed. "My hair's weird… Says the freak with the natural pink hair."

Marluxia chuckled, nudging his friend. "Touché." He glanced down at her, giving her a once over. "You look… nice."

The redhead blushed, glancing down at her outfit. "You think so…?"

He nodded, "Y-yeah."

And it was true. The long-sleeved black dress that was designed like a Santa dress (A/N: Except its black…You guys know what I'm trying to say… -_-) complemented her curves and fell to about an inch above her knees. The white and red striped stockings hugged her legs and disappeared into the knee-high black boots with the green laces with bells on the each end of the aglets tied into bows and the dark green scarf tied around her neck (also with bells on the edges) complemented her eyes. Her make-up wasn't caked too heavily on, but the little color did her complexion wonders.

Rosemary's eyes light up as she began to dig in her purse. "Oh, I can't decide on which lipstick to use. I was thinking red, but with my hair… Then, I thought black, but I don't want to scare your friends…"

Marluxia laughed, ruffling the girl's hair. "Go with what you think looks better. I doubt you'll be able to scare them. I think if they can stand up to Larxene, you'll be like a puppy to them."

"Hey! Puppies are evil… they bite **hard**." Rosemary protested, crossing her arms and pouting.

"Of course they do," he laughed, ruffling her hair. "Now, c'mon. We don't want to miss our flight."

Just as Marluxia was going to take his seat next to the window, Rosemary slipped past him, plopping down in the seat. He turned around, placing his hands on his hips, looking down at the girl who was grinning cheekily up at him. Sighing exasperatedly at her, he simply sat in the seat next to her.

"You're glad you're adorable," he muttered, glaring teasingly at her out of the corner of his eyes.

To her credit, she didn't even blink at his glare, though her cheeky smile did grow. "You think I'm adorable?"

Marluxia was sure color filled his cheeks as he turned his head away, coughing into his sleeve. "Ahem… Of course, I do…. Who wouldn't?"

"Awe," Rosemary cooed, reaching over and pinching her friend's cheeks. "You're so cute when you're flustered~!"

Blowing hair out of his eyes, annoyed, he turned and poked her in the side, causing her to yelp and stare up at him with her big green eyes. "If you don't quit teasing me, I'm going to tickle you into submission."

"Ohh, how kinky," the redhead smirked, though she did pull her fingers away from his face and put both hands in her lap.

"I'm just teasing you, Rosy," Marluxia said, reaching over and ruffling the girls hair.

Pouting, she flicked her bangs out of her eyes. "You, my dear friend, are an ass."

"Why thank you, darling."

Rosemary glanced around the bustling cabin, feeling her leg bounce in anticipation at going to New York. She had never been out of California before, and this fact made this trip that more exciting. That and she was excited about seeing snow. You see, unlike Marluxia, Rosemary **loved** the snow… she suspected so, at least, as she had never exactly experienced it. Nevertheless, she loved to look at pictures of it, watch movies with it in them, and she loved to imagine herself playing in a winter wonderland.

And because she hadn't had the chance when she was younger, she was going to build a huge snowman and make thousands of snow angels. She was going to dance with snowflakes and get in snowball fights. She was going to get sick drinking eggnog and hot chocolate (extra hot with one, big marshmallow) and get sick eating candy-canes and chocolate Santa's. She was going to sing Christmas carols and… She was going to have a real Christmas this year.

She wasn't going to be alone this year.

Marluxia glanced at his friend, as she stared out the window, watching the plane glide off the runway. He watched as she watched California got smaller and smaller, ignoring, completely, everything that happened around her. He watched as her eyes flashed with a flurry of excitement and he felt his heart swell with happiness.

"Hey," he whispered, placing his hand on her shoulder, squeezing it, gently. "It's a long flight. Why don't you get some sleep?"

"Oh, but, Marluxia, I'm much too excited to sleep!"

The pinkette riffled her hair. "Do what you wish," he said, though he knew fully well that she would pass out. From the bags that were under her eyes, he knew she hadn't gotten much sleep the night before. And waking up so early hardly helped the fact that she wasn't a morning person.

True to his prediction, Rosemary passed out. However, Marluxia followed soon after. He was awoken by the captain's voice echoing through the cabin. Just as he was about to stretch, he became aware of a pressure on his shoulder. The pinkette glanced down and smiled softly.

Rosemary's red head was rested on his shoulder, and from the soft snores that came from her, she was sleeping. Quite peacefully, might I add. Her face was soft and a smile was gently pulling at her sleeping lips.

She looked so happy that he almost didn't want to wake her. But, he knew she would want him too. Gently, he wrapped his arm around her and shook her.

"Hey, Rosy-Posy. Wakey, wakey."

The redhead groaned, shook her head, and buried her face into his chest. "Stop making stupid nicknames for me, Marly," she whispered.

"C'mon, Rose. Wake up. We're almost there."

This woke this girl. She sat straight up, flying to the window.

"Oh, wow!" her body filled with excitement at the nighttime scene of New York City as it got closer. "But I thought we were going to Twilight Town."

Marluxia laughed, ruffling her hair. "We're taking a taxi. Twilight Town's… small. It has no airport. But, it's close to the city, so we'll just take a cab."

This satisfied the girl, she was so excited she was bouncing in her seat. "I'm so excited! Oh, wow! Look at all the lights! It's beautiful!"

The pinkette watched the girl fondly. _'Yes you are.'_

"Hm, did you say something?"

He flushed, glancing at the redhead as she looked curiously at him. "Oh, no. Nothing."

She shrugged, glancing back at the scene as it got closer and closer. "Hey, Marly…?

"Hmm?" The pinkette's eyes never left the redhead's face, so when she turned back towards him and saw that he had such a concentrated look upon his face, she blushed.

"You know how you don't really like Christmas?"

"It's apathy," Marluxia corrected, ruffling her hair.

"Yeah, apathy, whatever… Well… This year's gonna be different for you… I promise."

Marluxia only smiled at his friend as she turned back towards the window, getting lost in the scenery, and felt that he believed in her words. He had a feeling that Christmas was going to be great this year.

Demyx was annoyed. Everyone could see that and decided to steer clear from the usually happy-go-lucky blonde with a mullet. Even Axel had the sensibility to stay away from him. Zexion was the only one to go near him. The boy with slate colored hair wrapped his arm around Demyx's shoulder, rubbing it consolingly. Running his hands through his sandy blond hair, he kept turning to glance out the window, his knee bouncing uncontrollably.

"When will he be here," Demyx whined, crossing his arms and pouting. "Marluxia was supposed to be here _hours_ ago!"

Zexion laughed, pulling Demyx into his chest. He knew that no matter what he said, Demyx wouldn't listen. He tended to believe only what he wanted and, even if it had only been half an hour, if Demyx said it had been hours, it had been hours. Zexion never argued with his boyfriend because the sandy blond was hard headed, but he didn't mind. He usually went along with whatever Demyx did. So, Zexion merely nodded, pressing his lips to his boyfriend's temple.

The others had decided to make themselves useful and finish doing the dishes from that morning's breakfast… well, Roxas was making himself useful. Axel was only getting in the way by distracting Roxas. He kept grabbing his boyfriend into his arms and whispering things that should never be said in public, but are anyways. The blonde boy with wild spikes blushed bright red and pushed the older male away. Whenever Axel was around, he never managed to get what needed to be done, done.

When there was a loud rapping on the door, Demyx was the first one up. He jumped from his spot on the couch and flew to the door, unable to contain his excitement. Throwing the door open, he grinned at the duo, examining them. Just as he expected, Marluxia stood there in all his pink headed glory. Next to him, however, was a girl he had never seen before.

She stood at the short height of 5'0 and had short, choppy bright red hair with green and silver streaks running through them. Her hair framed her pale, cherub like face. She had spring green eyes with gold speckles decorating them and had applied a soft green eye shadow and lined her eyes with black, giving her a childish sort of appearance. Her plump black painted lips were wide with a grin and her white teeth were spotless. She was dressed in a black Santa dress with red and white stockings and her face was covered in piercings. She had double snake bites, angle bites, a bridge piercing, and an eyebrow ring on her left eyebrow, and multiple earrings. There seemed to be too many to count, but on her right ear, she had an industrial piercing.

The girl's grin widened as she waved at Demyx. "Hallo! I'm Rosemary"

Demyx snickered, glancing at Marluxia. "Um, Marly, hate to tell you this, but I think she's not all there," he averted his gaze from Marluxia's shocked face and glanced down at Rosemary. "It's **Hello**. With an **e** not an **a**."

Rosemary blinked blankly up at Demyx before bursting out laughing. "Oh, Oh God… Oh man, oh man. You're hilarious!"

It was Demyx's turn to blink. He wanted to open his mouth to protest, but he wasn't joking. But, just as he was about to speak, Zexion popped up from behind, wrapping his arms around Demyx's waist.

"It's German, Demyx."

Rosemary laughed and nodded. "That's right. You must be Zexion. And you must be Demyx- you're just as funny as Marly told me."

A soft pink color dusted itself upon the blonde's face. "So, uh, Marluxia, it's good to have you home!"

Marluxia laughed and ruffled Demyx's head as he slipped through the doorway, past the couple, dragging Rosemary by the wrist, leaving their suitcases at the front door. Said girl glared up at the pinkette through her bangs. As Marluxia stood in the middle of the living room, Rosemary snapped her wrist from his hand and held it to her chest. She took a step away from him and made a bubble formation around her sides.

"My bubble… My. Bubble." Rosemary pointing at Marluxia, accusingly. "No touching."'

The male blinked at the redheaded girl, mouth slightly opened, eyebrows furrowed together. He opened his mouth a little more as if he were going to say something, but it seemed as if he changed his mind because he pursed his lips, instead, and shook his head.

Demyx and Zexion re-entered the room, dragging two suitcases with them. One of them was a soft yellow with a red bag-tag and the other was a black with a neon green bag-tag. Demyx, carrying the soft yellow bag, huffed placing the bag on the floor, just as Zexion placed the black bag on the floor, and collapsed into his boyfriend's arms, who, in turn, collapsed into the couch.

"God! Rosemary, what'd you bring…?" Demyx stared up at the girl he had just met, eyes huge.

The girl sputtered before pressing her hand to her mouth to hide her giggles. "T-That's M-Marluxia's bag!"

Marluxia's face filled with color as Demyx burst into laughter, burying his face into Zexion's chest to hide his giggles.

"H-Hey! C'mon, guys! Stop laughing! Yellow is the bisexual color of the world- it can go either way!" Marluxia waved his hands frantically in front of him, color still dusted across his cheeks.

This, however, simply caused the group to explode into more laughter.

Rosemary stood on tippy-toes and pinched Marluxia's cheeks between her thumbs and her index fingers. "Like I said, adorable," she said in a sing-song voice.

He narrowed his eyebrows and crossed his arms. "Oh, now you're going to get it!"

He bent over scooped the girl into his arms, despite her kicking and flailing, dropped her onto the couch opposite from the one Demyx and Zexion were on, and began to dig his fingers into her sides. He let out a satisfied grin as she began to shriek with laughter. The blond and the male with slate colored hair exchanged a knowing look.

"Uncle! U-Uncle!" the girl shrieked, between giggles, her face beet red. "C-Can't… Breath! GAH!"

Marluxia, satisfied grin widening, withdrew his hands and turned and sat on her stomach, causing her to huff out.

"Get off, fat-ass!"

"Look whose talking," Marluxia replied, stabbing his finger into her stomach, causing her to yelp out.

The girl huffed out, and settled with grumbling out curses.

Sometime during all this chaos, a tall man with wild red hair, intelligent green eyes, and black tear-drop tattoo's under his eyes, emerged from the kitchen. He had his abnormally thin arms wrapped around the waist of a boy with blonde spikes that seem to defy gravity and the biggest baby-blue eyes that anyone had ever seen. The blonde's nose was dusted with a soft pink, as he pouted and turned his head away from the red head.

The group in the living room seemed to quiet down as they watched the scene with interest. Rosemary struggled to sit up, but Marluxia continued to sit on her, hiding her from view. She hissed at him, but she went on unnoticed.

Axel chuckled down at the blond. "Awe, C'mon Roxy~!"

The blond elbowed the redhead in the stomach, but he didn't budge. "Nasty! We **eat** there!" He glared up at the redhead out of the corner of his eyes, but the pout and the fact that he was looking up through his blonde spikes simply made him seem more adorable to the redhead.

Shrugging, the redhead frowned. He sighed and rested his chin in Roxas' hair.

Roxas rolled his eyes, and they landed on the group in the living room, watching the couple with knowing eyes. His eyes landed on pink, and he immediately grinned.

"Marluxia! You're here!"

The redheaded male glanced up at the scene around him. "Oh, hey! Uh, didn't you say you were bringing a friend? Is she in the bathroom?"

Suddenly, Marluxia flew from the couch, and landed face first on the floor of the living room. A groan of pain came from him as he pushed himself up, sitting up, rubbing his head, glaring at the girl. Said girl pushed herself off the couch, standing up, thrusting her first triumphantly into the air.

"Cha! Sit on me again, and I'll stab you with a spork! And not the shitty plastic kind that the cafeteria gives us because they think we'll injure ourselves with forks- which is actually completely plausible!"

Time seemed to pause as Axel stared at the girl. "Rosemary?" His voice sounded incredulously.

"Hm?" She turned and froze as she caught sight at the taller redhead. "Holy shit, Axel?" Her spring green eyes were comically wide, jaw dropped.

Roxas and Marluxia questioned in unison, "You two know each other?"

The two redheads nodded. "He/She's my cousin- Jinx-one-two-three, YOU OWE ME A SODA!" The two pointed a finger at each other and burst out laughing.

"Cousin?" the entire room repeated the word.

The female redhead opened her mouth to speak, but the pinkette stood, taking her wrist, and pulled her into the kitchen.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Marluxia questioned.

Rosemary heaved a shoulder, "I didn't think it was important… I never saw a picture of him, and there a hundreds of Axel's in the world. Why? Do you think it's important?"

Marluxia shook his head, "Well… no…"

"Then, I don't see what the big deal is."

He sighed, and nodded. "I guess you're right…"

"No guessing," she said, wagging her finger at him, grinning. "It shows weakness."

The taller male cocked a brow, "Weakness of what…?"

Rosemary shrugged. "Don't know. Oh, hey, it's snowing!"

Marluxia laughed, glancing down at her as she pressed her face to the window, spring green eyes lighting up in excitement. She turned her head quickly, but ended up bumping into his chest, mouth opened, ready to speak. She ended up bumping into him too hard and nearly fell over, but the pinkette caught her, wrapping his arms around her waist. Her face filled with a dark red color as she stared into his eyes.

_'You know… I've never really noticed how blue his eyes are…'_ She thought, unable to tear her eyes away from his.

Marluxia found himself leaning in, slowly and hesitantly. And, she found herself leaning in closer to him, starting to push herself onto the tips of her toes. Her heart was racing as the million thoughts that flew through her head were wiped clean as she felt his breath on her lips. Slowly, her eyes began to flutter shut, and she felt butterflies going crazy in her tummy.

Her breath hitched, and she swears that their lips brushed against each others, but a crash in the living room caused them to fly apart, both blushing heavily. Embarrassed, Rosemary seemed unable to even look at Marluxia, pulling her bottom snake bite into her black lips. Chancing it, she glanced at Marluxia, and she swore his eyes flashed with disappointment. Shaking her head, she held out her hand, and grinned at him.

"C'mon! Let's go build a snowman! Or snow angels! Ohh! Or, we can have a snowball fight!"

Marluxia laughed, and this caused Rosemary's grin to reach her eyes. The pinkette took the girls hand, and she dragged him into the living room. They paused, and glanced at the living room scene with a cocked brow. Axel had fallen onto the coffee table, causing the legs to fall off. Roxas held his hands over his chest, protectively, face bright red. Demyx and Zexion supported each other in a fit of giggles.

Glancing at each other, they shrugged, deciding not to ask through each other's eyes. This was when they realized they were still holding hands- well, Rosemary realized. She, blushing brightly, began to slip her hand out of Marluxia's, but he squeezed it, softly, and endearingly, grinning at her.

Axel looked up at the two, and laughed, while the other three exchanged knowing looks. "Oh, Marly, getting some action, I see," he teased, winking.

Rolling her eyes, Rosemary smirked. "You're just jealous that I'm getting more action than you, Axel," she winked at Roxas who laughed.

The redheaded male sputtered indignantly, and the rest of the room laughed at their friend's predicament. His face turned the color of his hair, and he threw a pillow at Rosemary, who jumped behind Marluxia, causing the pillow to hit him in the face. As the pinkette's eyebrow twitched, Rosemary pointed and laughed.

"Oh hell, you're getting it now!"

Rosemary 'eeped' and grabbed the thick white coat that she had hung on the coat rack when she entered the house before dashing outside. Marluxia dashed after her, not bothering to grab his jacket, though when a freezing blast of air hit him, he immediately decided that, that may not have been the best idea he ever had. Shrugging, he was about to chase after the redhead girl, when she popped up from behind a car and slammed a snowball into his face.

His mouth opened, shocked, as snow dripped from his features. Rosemary giggled before she caught sight of his lack of a jacket, and narrowed her eyes, hissing, "Go. Put. On. A. Jacket."

Cocking a brow, he opened his mouth to protest because goddamnit he was a grown man and could make his own choices, but then he catches the look of concern in her eyes, and he decides not argue. Turning, he re-entered the house to grab his jacket, when he realized that the inhabitants were sitting on the couches, laughing at him. He even noticed Axel cracking an invisible whip, making whipping noises, attempting not to laugh.

Roxas nodded vigorously in agreement, hiding his giggles behind an open hand. Marluxia rolled his eyes as he slipped the jacket on.

"C'mon, guys. Let's go outside. And bring your camera, Demyx. I can assure you that this will be the only time you'll catch me outside." With that the pinkette sauntered out the door.

Zexion turned to his boyfriend, and nodded, speaking up, "Oh yeah, he's totally whipped."

It was already dark when everyone stumbled back into the house, flipping lights on as they trudged through, exhaustedly. Their wind bitten cheeks were red and the whole group had grins on their faces. The group collapsed onto the couches, laughing, leaning on each other for support, tossing their jackets into a corner of the room.

"That was the most epic snowball fight. Ever!" Demyx declared, snuggling into Zexion's chest.

Roxas nodded in agreement, eyes fluttering shut, entwining his and Axel's fingers, resting his head against the taller man's shoulder, glad for the warmth.

Rosemary was obviously wiped out, but her eyes glowed with excitement. Tapping her fingers against her knees, she pushed herself up, so she was sitting up straight. "I'm going to go to sleep," she said, yawning, glancing at the time, surprised to see that it was around ten thirty.

Marluxia stood, nodded. "Me too. See you guys tomorrow."

A collection of exhausted "goodnights" reached their ears as the two made their way to the guest room. Marluxia held the door open and Rosemary slipped past him, collapsing on the queen sized bed. Laughing, the pinkette stumbled to the suitcases that had been abandoned in the corner earlier in the day. He knelt next to it, unzipped it and pulled out a pair of flannel pajama pants. Standing, he glanced at Rosemary.

"I'm going to change in the bathroom…" He said.

Laughing, the redhead cocked a brow at him, "Have fun."

Rolling his eyes, Marluxia entered the bathroom.

Rosemary rolled off the bed when Marluxia entered the bathroom. Yawning, she scrambled to her suitcase and yanked out a giant t-shirt and a pair of yoga shorts. She glanced at the bathroom and quickly changed into the forest green t-shirt and the black shorts. By the time she flopped onto the bed and crawled under the quilt, Marluxia exited the background, scratching his bare chest. Rosemary peeked from under the covers and made a face.

"Dear, God, put on a shirt."

Marluxia rolled his eyes. "How about you take yours off?"

Rosemary squealed in disgust and laughed as he crawled under the covers. "Pig."

The pinkette laughed and hit her with his pillow. "Oink, oink."

The redheaded female rolled her eyes at the pinkette as he threw his tantrum.

"Oh, c'mon, Marluxia. Stop being such a baby. It's Christmas Eve and it's a party! You're not one to turn away a party… All you have to do is wear a tie. It's not that big of a deal," she coaxed, holding out the black tie.

"No. I refuse. And I don't **only** have to wear a tie. We have to go **outside** to get there. And I am **not**, I repeat **not** going outside. Period." He crossed his arms, frowned, and turned his head away.

"You're being a baby! Just put the goddamn tie on! You're going to this fucking party, whether you like it or not. So button up that shirt, put pants on, or I swear to god that I am going to kick your ass!"

Her eyes flashed with her threat, and Marluxia should have known better than to refuse.

"No."

Unfortunately, Marluxia isn't one to give up as easily as Rosemary expected him to. Too bad. It really would have saved them both time and effort.

From the living room, the four males flinched at the sound of yelps and yells for help.

Roxas glanced at Axel, eyebrow cocked. "Should we help him?"

With wide eyes, Axel shook his head. "Hell no. I'm not stepping in between **that**. Rose will kick my ass!"

Demyx laughed, glancing at Axel. "She can't be** that** bad."

"Oh, God, HELP! Gah! G-Get OFF!"

"PUT THE FUCKING TIE ON!"

"No- AHHHHHHH!"

Demyx paled. "I stand corrected."

Suddenly all the noise from the next room ceased. There was the sound of a doorknob turning and Marluxia stumbled from the room, eyes wide with fear, face with literally no color. Behind him, Rosemary walked, successful smirk on her lips, clapping inexistent dust off her hands. The pinkette fumbled with the black tie that contrasted with the white button down shirt and matched with the black slacks. Rosemary frowned and smacked his hand.

"Don't. Touch."

Marluxia dropped his hands with a pained expression on his face, but he said nothing. Rosemary walked past him and smiled at the group as she smoothed a wrinkle in her black pencil skirt.

"Well, now. Don't you all look nice!"

And, it was true. Roxas wore a white button down t-shirt with a pair of navy blue slacks and a navy blue tie that played out his eyes. Demyx wore a navy blue button down t-shirt, a pair of black slacks, and a black tie. Zexion had on a button down t-shirt that had a slight silvery sheen to it, a black tie, and black slacks. Axel wore a bright red button down shirt, a pair of black slacks, but instead of a tie, he had a black bow tie.

Smiling bigger with her bright red lips, she ignored their pale faces and wide eyes as she tucked in her own black dress shirt with silver buttons into her black pencil skirt. She glanced back up at the group, her red bangs pushed out of her eyes by a huge black bow. Cocking an elegant brow, she laughed.

"Well, are you going to stand there gawking, or are we going to go?"

With her words, the room exploded with action. Demyx began to search the room for his Zune and Zexion went into the kitchen for the red velvet cake that they had made for Roxas' parents, and Axel went in search for his keys. Roxas rolled his eyes as Axel began to throw the pillows off the couch in search for his keys. The short blond held up a keychain and dangled it, it making small dinging sound and the tall redhead stood, smirking sheepishly as he approached the blond and took the keys. Roxas rolled his eyes.

It took a total of twenty three minutes, but the group soon piled into the truck and were on their way to the Christmas party that was held at Roxas' parent's house every year. Demyx, who got the privilege of sitting in the front, between Roxas and Axel (just in case Axel couldn't keep his hands to himself), fiddled with the radio station, until Christmas music flooded through the speakers.

"_Oh, the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful."_

Axel lowered the volume, so that the next part to the song was cut off. "Hell no. I've got to listen to Christmas music the rest of the night, so I am not listening to it now."

Demyx scowled. "Fine."

Roxas rolled his eyes and reached for the tuner and searched for a music station, but all he got was static. "God, Axel, your radio sucks."

The redhead rolled his eyes and glanced into the rear-view mirror to glance at the redheaded female. "Oi, Rose. Reach under the seat and grab a binder. It has my CD's in it. Grab the-"

"I know, I know. The Killers." Rosemary's response was muffled by Marluxia's knee. "God, Marluxia, it's huge!"

The pinkette immediately responded with a "That's what she said!"

The redhead blushed immensely, and hissed out, "I meant your knee. Now shut up before I cause you bodily harm."

Marluxia rolled his eyes and moved his knee from her face, just as she was going to pull her head up. But, his knee just so happened to support her, so, when he moved his knee, her face fell right into his lap. Blushing profusely, she couldn't move her head away fast enough. Unfortunately, everyone else just so happened to see, and broke out in laughter. The pinkette, also blushing, helped the girl sit up. Brushing it off, Rosemary cleared her throat and handed the CD to Axel.

Axel, still laughing, reached for the extended CD before popping it in and skipped a few tracks until Human began to blast through the speakers. Grinning, he turned it up a few notches and began to sing. Soon enough, the entire group was either singing, or laughing too hard- except for Zexion, of course. Zexion settled with hiding a grin behind his hand, chuckling softly.

After a few more round of songs, Axel turned the truck into a long driveway already crowded with cars. He put the car in park and shut it off. Smirking, he pivoted in his seat.

"So, who's the designated driver?"

There was no reply at first, but, finally, Rosemary sighed. "I guess I'll be designated driver for all you underage drinkers."

"Hey, I'll have you know I turned twenty-one last week."

Rosemary rolled her eyes. "That never stopped you before, Axel."

Axel laughed. "True that."

The group clambered out of the truck, straightened themselves out, and made their way to the front door. Without knocking, Roxas let them into the house. As soon as they were inside, Roxas was tackled to ground by a short brown blur. Axel and the rest laughed at Roxas misfortune. Rosemary seemed to be the only startled one. She had flinched and ducked behind Marluxia. Peeking out, she realized that the brown blur had only been a male, about the same age as Roxas.

Roxas, scowled, stood and helped the boy up. He turned, she assumed, to introduce him to her, and when he saw she was hiding behind Marluxia, his scowl faded and he laughed at her.

"Don't worry, Rosemary. Sora won't hurt you," he turned back to the boy, and Rosemary got the chance to look Sora over. "Sora, meet Rosemary. Rosemary, meet my twin brother, Sora."

He looked almost exactly like Roxas, they were the same height, had the same baby-blue eyes, and had gravity defying spikes. The only difference was the face that Sora's spikes were a tad bit larger, and where a light shade of brown, rather than the blonde that sat atop Roxas' hair. Both boys had a lean figure, but Sora had a touch of baby fat still in his cheeks, giving him the appearance of a cherub. Rosemary took Sora's extended hand, shaking it, when she paused.

Sora… Roxas…

The redhead burst out laughing, hand flying to her mouth to hide her giggles. From the way Roxas scowled, she supposed she wasn't the first one to realize that. She shook her head, but a grin still sat atop her lips.

"Sorry. Suppose I couldn't help myself. I just have to give it to your parents. Either they were really lazy, or really clever."

"A little bit of both, I suppose."

A voice came with a laugh from behind the group and Rosemary turned to see a middle aged woman with straight dark brown hair, pale skin, and warm brown eyes. The woman was toned and extremely fit. Next to the woman stood a tall man with blonde spikes that defied gravity and pristine blue eyes. He stood at an impressive and slightly intimidating height and it was obvious that he worked out constantly because his arms, even beneath the dress shirt, were extremely toned. It was then that Rosemary realized that these were Roxas' parents. She gave them her best smile and extended her hand for them to shake.

"It's a please to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Strife. I'm Rosemary."

The male smirked. "Call me Cloud, and that's Tifa. No need for formalities, they make us feel old." He took her hand and shook it.

Tifa smiled as she also shook Rosemary's hand before she paused, and her eyes light up. "Oh! You're Marluxia's girlfriend!"

Teasing his friend, Marluxia nodded, wrapping his arm around Rosemary's waist. "Most definitely."

Blushing brightly, the redhead elbowed the pinkette in the gut. "Ha! He wishes!"

Tifa, brushing a strand of silky brown hair out of her eyes, smiled brightly at the bunch. "Roxas, Sora, be dears and take your guests to their tables."

Roxas groaned, but Sora grabbed Roxas' hand and proceeded to drag him to the elegant dining room.

Rosemary grinned at Roxas, and couldn't help herself, "You know what, Roxas. You need to act more deer-like. I mean, Sora's got it down packed. Sooner or later, he'll be getting a letter from Santa, asking him to replace Rudolf."

Roxas glanced at her with an incredulous look, to which she replied by grinning cheekily at him. During Rosemary's mini-speech (or was it an attempt to be funny?- the world may never know), Sora had led the group to a table which already had three other inhabitants. Sora dropped his brothers wrist and practically skipped over to the male with shaggy silver hair and aquamarine eyes that was wearing a white shirt and a black jacket ("What? No Tie! Luckyyyy!") and threw his arms around him, planting a kiss on his cheek.

"This is Riku."

The silverette cocked an eyebrow and a smirk slipped onto his lips. He said nothing, though, so Rosemary responded my mimicking his cocked eyebrow and slightly cocky smirk. Then, Sora motioned to a girl with soft blond hair pushed over her shoulder with violet-blue eyes another girl with wine red hair and (surprise, surprise) violet-blue eyes. They looked almost identical, aside from their hair color, and obvious taste in clothing. The blonde worse a modest white dress that fell to her knees when she stood to shake Rosemary's hand. The redhead wore a very chic silver-y bubble dress that reached about an inch above her knees with a black bow and sheer black leggings.

"These two are Kairi and Naminé, they're our cousins. Guys, this is Rosemary."

Rosemary flashed them a friendly grin. "Hallo!"

The girls flashed her a bright smile and said, in unison, "Hi!"

Sora plopped down next to Riku, clinging to the silverette's arm and, though he had an annoyed look in his eyes, Rosemary could tell that he was enjoying the attention from the brunette. Roxas took a seat next to Sora and, obviously, Axel sat next to him, arm loosely draped over the smaller boy's shoulders. The blond boy shot the redheaded male a keep-your-hands-to-yourself look to which Axel pouted. Demyx sat next to Naminé, flashing the girl a friendly grin, and Zexion sat next to his boyfriend. Next to Zexion, Marluxia sat, dragging the redheaded girl with him. Rosemary glared at the pinkette, grabbed his napkin, and threw it at his face. Marluxia rolled his eyes and was about to ruffle her hair, but she gave him such a cold glare that he retracted his hand, folding his hands on his lap. She smiled and patted the males shoulder as if to say good-boy.

Chatter echoed through the large room and Rosemary took the time to examine her surroundings. The room was full of huge, round tables with centerpieces that had bright red Poinsettias. Each table held about thirteen people and this is when Rosemary noticed that there were three more seats between Axel and her. She was about to question Roxas, but when he glanced up, a huge grin broke out on his face.

"Hayner, Pence, Olette! I'm glad you guys could make it!"

Rosemary twisted in her seat to see a male with dirty blond hair and bright brown eyes dressed in a brown button down shirt and faded blue jeans holding hands with a girl with wavy sugar-brown hair that cascaded down to her breasts and friendly green eyes wearing a soft yellow, long sleeve dress that reached her knees. Next to them stood a male, slightly chubby, with spiky brown hair and light brown eyes, wearing a red dress shirt and navy blue jeans.

Roxas, still grinning at his friends, jumped up and approached his friends when the dirty blond dropped the brunette's hand and pulled the smaller blond into a headlock, giving him a noogie. Roxas elbowed his friend in the gut and attempted to fix his hair; thankfully, the spikes popped right back up in their usual places.

"Still a jackass, I see," Roxas scowled, though his eyes still held a grin.

"And I see your elbow is still bony as hell," The male with dirty blond hair chuckled, rubbing his stomach with a wince.

The girl giggled behind an open hand before her green eyes landed on Rosemary. She pulled her hands behind her back and smiled at the redheaded female. "Hi!" she chirped, cocking her head, slightly, to the side. "I'm Olette, that knucklehead is Hayner, and this is Pence (who waved with a huge grin). What's your name?"

Rosemary returned the smile, holding out a hand for her to shake. "I'm Rosemary."

Olette shook Rosemary's hand and glanced at the pinkette next to her. "Oh, you're Marluxia's date?"

Marluxia, smirking, draped his arm around Rosemary and nodded, saying, "Yep," at the same time Rosemary rolled her eyes, though she kept the smile on her lips, and said, "I guess you could say that."

After greetings had been exchanged, the trio and Roxas took their seats, Pence sitting next to Rosemary, Hayner sitting next to Axel, and Olette sitting in between the two. Once again, the group began to chat and their voices added to the chatter that echoed in the room. Marluxia, however, was uncharacteristically quiet. Rosemary glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, pausing in her conversation with Pence, and cocked her head, turning to him.

"Something bothering you?"

Marluxia shrugged, before standing. "I think I'm going to go outside for a moment," he muttered before turning and leaving the table.

Worry filling her eyes, Rosemary turned to Pence and said, "I'll be back," before standing and following the pinkette out of the room.

Moving as fast as she could in her pencil skirt, she found him standing outside, leaning against the railing of the patio. It was quiet, more or less, save for some faint Christmas music, that had been playing on the inside of the house. Sighing, she approached him and placed her hand on Marluxia's arm.

"What's bothering you, Marly?" she questioned in a soft, worried voice.

He simply shrugged her hand away and began to walk away, shoving his hands into his pockets, but she hooked her hand around his arm. Grunting, she pulled him back to where they were standing. The pinkette, however, glared down at her through his pink bangs, causing her to release him, startled by the look.

"What did I do?" She asked, still startled.

"What do you think?" A silence passed over the two, before Marluxia spoke up, again. "What do you want?"

Rosemary bit down on her lip, "I want to know what's wrong. I want to know why you're acting like this!"

Marluxia rolled his eyes. "Nothing's wrong. I just need to be alone," he began to walk away.

Sighing, the girl took his hand and pulled him back, gently, this time. "Don't go. Talk to me."

"I don't want to talk."

He attempted to walk away, again, but Rosemary did not release his hand, entwining their fingers, a soft blush settling on her cheeks at her actions. "Please?"

Sighing exasperatedly, Marluxia returned and leaned against the railing, again. "What do you want to talk about?"

Licking her lips, Rosemary averted her eyes to the ground, still blushing. "Us."

"What about us?" Marluxia cocked a brow, glancing down at her.

"Well, we're friends, aren't we? We should be able to talk to each other about everything. I want you to tell me what's bothering you. I mean, you're acting like I did something wrong, and if I did, I want you to tell me what it was that I did wrong, so I can apologize."

He didn't reply, averting his eyes to the pool, so she continued.

"All I was doing was being nice and getting to know Roxas' friends. I was only talking to Pence about his photography, and you're acting like I committed a crime or betrayed you or something. You're my best friend, Marluxia, and I don't want to lose you, so please tell me what I did wrong."

Sighing, Marluxia glanced down at her and was about to speak, when he noticed that tears were welling up in her beautiful green eyes, and he felt the guilt drop in his stomach. He turned to face her and cupped her face, wiping away a tear that had fallen.

"You didn't do anything wrong. I was… just being a bad friend. I guess, I was jealous," he blushed, but continued speaking. "You're my best friend, Rose, and I guess I only wanted to keep you to myself. I'm sorry I made you feel bad for no reason. I-"

Blushing, Rosemary cut him off. "You were… jealous?"

Marluxia froze and closed his eyes, nodding.

"But… aren't you going out with Larxene?" A hint of envy coated her words and Marluxia opened his eyes to see her blushing more so than earlier.

Licking his lips, Marluxia shook his head. "A-Actually, I broke up with her before coming out here with you…" He was going to continue, but Rosemary cut him off.

"Did that bitch cheat on you again? 'Cause if she did, I'm going to rip her throat out."

Surprised by her hostility, Marluxia cocked his brow before his eyes softened and he pulled the girl into a tight hug. "You're such a good friend. I treat you like shit and you still care about me."

Rosemary returned the hug, but pulled away and looked at him sternly. "Did she?"

He shook his head, smiling. "Nah… I broke up with her because…" Instantly, the butterflies took over his stomach. "Well, I… wanted to tell you… that… Iloveyou." He blurt out his last words and prepared for the worst.

Her eyes widened and her lips parted, surprised. "You… love… me? Even after all those time's I pushed you away and told you that I didn't want to be more than friends?"

Marluxia nodded, stomach clenching and unclenching repeatedly. "I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have told you…"

The redhead shook her head, placing her finger on his lips, grinning. "No, I… I'm glad you told me. Because, you see…I love you, too."

Marluxia, his eyes widening, looked down at her so fast that he was surprised he didn't get whiplash. He didn't speak, though, because she laughed and began to speak, again.

"Now… It makes so much sense…"

Confused, the pinkette cocked his brow, blushing as he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling them together. "What makes so much sense?"

"Well, before we left, Larxene called me and threatened me."

"She threatened you?"

"She tried to threaten me. She told me to sleep with one eye open. It was really funny, actually, and-" she glanced up at him and shut her mouth, blushing brightly, as her eyes locked onto something above Marluxia's head.

"What?" the pinkette glanced above himself and blushed as he spotted the mistletoe that dangled above him. "Well," he looked down at her, again, "It _is_ tradition."

Rosemary didn't speak as Marluxia lowered him face to hers, cupping her face in his large, slender hands. They didn't move for a few moments, simply staring into each other's eyes, but she let her eyes slip shut, as did he. Slowly, the two moved together, lips meeting in a soft, gentle kiss. When their lips pressed together, fireworks didn't go off, nor did a large group of people break out in cheers, it simply felt right. Their lips fit together perfectly, and when he pulled away, they didn't move very far apart, getting lost in each other's eyes.

Marluxia licked his lips, blushing, and whispered, "Well, you kept your promise."

Rosemary grinned, laughing, and threw her arms around his neck, standing on the tips of her toes, and pulled him back in for another kiss.

When the two finally disentangled themselves, and Rosemary wiped off the red lipstick that had been smeared over Marluxia's soft lips, he took her hand in his, entwining their fingers, before leading her back into the house. The Christmas seemed louder and more cheerful as the two weaved their way through the people that were crowded in the house, laughing to themselves just because, the mood between the two considerably lighter.

The two re-entered the large dining room and, though it felt as if everyone's eyes were on them (even though that was a ridiculous assumption), they continued towards their table, holding hands. Nobody said a word as the two took their seats, and Marluxia shot Rosemary a grin as he rubbed his thumb against her knuckle.

Marluxia glanced around at the Christmas decorations and felt, for the first time in his life, that, maybe, he could like Christmas, after all. Perhaps it was because now he had a good memory for the many Christmas' to come and, even if they didn't stay together forever (because they still were young, after all), they would always be the best of friends and could look upon this night as the night their friendship had blossomed into something more.

Demyx glanced at the two, turned to his boyfriend, leaned in and whispered a single word into his ear, to which Zexion smiled, softly, and nodded.

"_Finally."_

**END**

**Authors End Note:** Dear God, that took forever to finish. This is actually the longest story I've ever written (that I'm proud of). I really like the way this came out, especially since I began to write this only with an idea of what it was going to be about. This took me about… two months? I don't know exactly. I just know I started it in the beginning of December and finished now. Of course, I may have procrastinated just a tiny bit… Plus, I have school and everyone knows what a pain in the ass that can be. Anyways, I hope you all like it and if you don't, that's okay, too, because everyone's entitled to their opinion. But, please don't post a review saying "I hate it, you suck, blah blah blah." No flames. If you're going to criticize me, please do it constructively. I'm always looking for a way to improve my writing. Thanks a lot, and, again, I hope you like it.


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